Ethics Committees

Yesim Isil Ulman, Tuna Cakar & Gokcen Yildiz, Ethical Issues in Neuromarketing: “I Consume, Therefore I am!”, Science and Engineering Ethics, ISSN 1353-3452, Sci Eng Ethics, DOI 10.1007/s11948-014-9581-5

Abstract
Neuromarketing is one of the recent interdisciplinary fields bridging between  neuroscience and marketing research. Since its main aim  is  concerned with  improving marketing strategies and with promoting sales, there is an increasing public concern and public protest. These protests can be exemplified with the actions observed lately in Baylor School of Medicine and in Emory University in the United States. The recent incident in France to stop the ongoing neuromarketing research is remarkable. Thus, the ethical issues have again attracted much attention, since the number of neuromarketing companies has exceeded 300 world-wide. This paper  starts with a brief introduction of this neurotechnology by presenting its current capabilities and limitations. Then it will focus on the ethical issues and debates related to recent applications of this technology. The decision in France  to restrict their bioethical convention by the French Parliament last year, has a central place in our discussion. The proposal by Murphy and colleagues has attracted attention to the necessity of ethical codes structuring this field [1].  A code has recently been declared by the Neuromarketing Science and Business Association. It is argued in this paper that these technologies should sufficiently be discussed in public spheres and its use on human subjects should be fully carried out according to the ethical principles and legal regulations designed in line with human rights and human dignity. There is an urgent need in the ethics committees monitoring the research regarding the ethical values of nonmalefficience, autonomy, confidentiality and protection of vulnerable groups.
Keywords: Neuromarketing, neuroscience, ethical issues, human dignity, public engagement.

To promote ethical practices, healthcare managers must understand the ethical challenges encountered by key stakeholders. To characterize ethical challenges in Veterans Administration (VA) facilities from the perspectives of managers, clinicians, patients, and ethics consultants. We conducted focus groups with patients (n = 32) and managers (n = 38); semi-structured interviews with managers (n = 31), clinicians (n = 55), and ethics committee chairpersons (n = 21). Data were analyzed using content analysis. Managers reported that the greatest ethical challenge was fairly distributing resources across programs and services, whereas clinicians identified the effect of resource constraints on patient care. Ethics committee chairpersons identified end-of-life care as the greatest ethical challenge, whereas patients identified obtaining fair, respectful, and caring treatment. Perspectives on ethical challenges varied depending on the respondent's role. Understanding these differences can help managers take practical steps to address these challenges. Further, ethics committees seemingly, are not addressing the range of ethical challenges within their institutions.